a blog by Enya

Band Feature: The Ransom Collective

“The Ransom Collective is a Manila based indie folk/rock band likened to the sounds of Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and The Local Natives. Comprised of Kian Ransom, Redd Claudio, Jerms Choa Peck, Leah Halili, Lily Gonzales, and Muriel Gonzales, the band combines unique percussive patterns, acoustic guitar driven leads, and full band vocal swells to create their foot stomping folk pop sound.

They formed in late August 2013 and within their first six months, found themselves on stages all over manila. The band began to emerge onto the scene after winning “Wanderband,” a battle of the bands between some of the Philippines top indie bands. Along with the title, The Ransom Collective went on to play the annual Wanderland Fest, sharing the stage with bands such as The Drums, The Royal Concept, Architecture in Helsinki and more. They also were part of the annual “Feat De Le Musiqe.”

In 2014, Deezer nominated The Ransom Collective to represent the Philippines in a global independent artist competition. The band eventually took 2nd place out of 45 countries. In September, they released their debut EP, which was listed by Vandals on the Wall, a respected local indie music blog, as one of the most anticipated EP’s of the year.” – Taken from their website here.

I first got wind of these guys sometime last year when one of their original tracks was featured in JC Intal and Bianca Gonzales’s Wedding video made by Jason Magbanua – check it out here, and was surprised to later find out that the music used was composed by a local group by the name of The Ransom Collective.

Taken by the familiar feelings of their music, I decided to stalk them like I do with all my favorite bands and the rest is history, I suppose. I love their music, I love the feeling that I get when I listen to their music and so and so, I write about them. I am so happy for their recent successes and I hope that this keep going on for these guys because I really think they’ll really hit it off on the music industry – and maybe finally add some much needed diversity in the said local music industry.

Sadly, I don’t always have the opportunity to see them live for the fact that I was born on the wrong island and I think it was sometime earlier this year when they had a performance at Ateneo de Manila University I think, and I persuaded (forced) my best friend Ada, who was there at the time and as I predicted, she enjoyed herself being front and center at the concert and later took photos of her and the band.

Needless to say, as a music lover I am desperate to see these guys perform live someday but until that time, I’ll just post this and proceed to mope around Spotify.